


Overflow

by dryswallow



Category: Nabari no Ou
Genre: M/M, Post-Series, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-04-02
Packaged: 2017-12-07 05:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/744977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryswallow/pseuds/dryswallow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raikou gets something he never expected: an ever after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overflow

**Author's Note:**

> happens the morning after shinrabanshou shenanigans in ch 72. ty to spiralmaiden for coming up with a summary for me.

By the time Raikou wakes, it's already late morning and the futons laid out around him are empty. It isn't like him to sleep for so long. He can hear voices coming from other parts of the house, doors sliding open and shut. Every now and then footsteps pass by the door to the guestroom but none of them stop.

His body is sore, more than he can remember it being in years. Now that the adrenaline of the last few days has worn off he can feel the shape of the damage inside of his body. A heaviness has settled in his muscles and nerves alike, weighing him down like stones. His left eye, his stomach, his right arm: these places prickle with the quiet itch of a wound that is already beginning to heal.

Raikou exhales and settles back against his pillows.

The Shinrabanshou is gone. It's finished. And he survived.

Parts of him weren't expecting, weren't even hoping to make it through all this alive.

Another set of footsteps pads down the hall, but this time they stop in front of the guestroom. They hesitate a moment before the door slides open and Yukimi steps inside.

He gives a low whistle when he catches sight of Raikou. “Wow, you look like shit.”

Raikou gathers himself, quick as he can manage.

“Ah, are you here to flirt with me, Yukimi-sempai?” he asks, eyes flickering to the doorway.

“You wish. Nah, I came to see how you're doing,” Yukimi says. “Been a while since we talked, huh.”

He crosses the room and settles cross-legged on the floor beside Raikou's futon. The sleeve that should have held his right arm hangs loose and empty at his side. When did that happen? Raikou's memories may have returned, but so much of what happened while he and Gau were separated from the others is still unknown to him.

“Heard you're lucky to be alive,” Yukimi says, voice quiet and gruff.

Raikou simpers. So that's why Yukimi is here.

“You shouldn't believe everything you hear.”

“Maybe not, but just from lookin' at you I can tell you were roughed up pretty bad,” Yukimi says. “Plus I heard the story from your little sister and Gau earlier, and I can't think of any good reason why they'd lie to me.”

“If you say so,” Raikou says.

It's not fair of Yukimi to have come to him when he's like this. There's nowhere for him to escape to, except into himself, and he barely has enough energy to deflect Yukimi's words.

“Once things calm down there'll be a lot less opportunity for you to go gettin' yourself banged up like this,” Yukimi continues. “But you've really got to stop being so stupid and reckless.”

“Mm.”

“Hey, this is important shit, you should listen,” Yukimi says. “You did the right thing, okay? Back when I left Kairoushuu. I still can't remember it all that clearly, but I wanted to come thank you for telling me where they were. And good on you for leaving when you did, too.”

In Raikou's mind the memories are blurred and indistinct, but his sense of them is returning as each one surfaces, becoming gradually clearer. He had watched Miharu's back receding, dashing down the hallway in search of Yoite. Then he could feel nothing but the hilt of his katana in one hand and Gau's fingers clasped in the other. His heartbeat. They were running.

It was one thing, to have spent weeks wandering, displaced, trying to salvage the justification for what he'd done. It's another to have those memories given back to him, forcing him to face those decisions all over again. There's too much of it. He can't think, can't keep any of it separate. It's dripping, tepid water spilling out of his head and down through his neck, pooling in his chest.

“Raikou.”

He glances upwards, meeting Yukimi's gaze. 

“I mean it, you dumb-ass,” Yukimi says. “Sure, not everything you did was good – could've done without you lying to me that one time for sure. But it worked out. Now we've just got to live with it.”

“Sorry,” Raikou says, mostly on impulse. “Not for lying, for–”

“I know. You don't gotta say it.” Yukimi sighs, rubbing at his neck.

They sit there a while in silence, until more footsteps come down the hallway. Gau slides the door open carefully, balancing a glass of water in one hand and a white pill bottle in the other. His eyes narrow when he sees Yukimi.

“Stop bothering him, Yukimi-san! He needs to rest – and so do you!”

“I ain't bothering him,” Yukimi says. “Just catching up. Like old friends do.”

Gau makes no effort to hide how he rolls his eyes and Raikou can't help but smile. Even when Gau is exhausted – and it's clear he is, there are dark bruises beneath his eyes and his body is tight with strain – he's still fiery and argumentative. He's much more resilient than most people would give him credit for, Raikou reflects. And brave. And so many things.

Gau kissed him last night. It was the first time it had happened. After the Shinrabanshou had gone and Raikou had come back, they ended up in a darkened hallway of Seki's house. They clutched at each other, both of them needing the touch. Gau's hands rested against his shoulders, careful not to aggravate his wounds. And Gau kissed him.

More than that, Raikou kissed him back.

“I think I said what I needed to,” Yukimi says, getting to his feet. “Guess I'll go see how Miharu's doing.”

“He's out in the garden with Raimei-san,” Gau tells him. Once Yukimi is gone, he sits on the floor beside Raikou and shakes two capsules out of the bottle. “Minami-san said she'll come by in a bit, but for now I have painkillers and antibiotics.”

“Thank you, Gau,” Raikou says, taking the glass. He takes generous gulps as he swallows each capsule; the water is cold and clear in his throat.

“How are you feeling?” Gau asks once Raikou has finished.

“All right,” Raikou says, but he can feel Gau's eyes on him, waiting for a truthful answer. “I'm tired, obviously, but sleeping helped. You don't have to worry.”

“You know I'm going to even if you say that,” Gau mutters, but he seems satisfied. He stands, picking up the empty glass.

“Where are you going?” Raikou asks, surprised at how quickly the question leaves his mouth.

“I was just going to go see if there was anything else Seki-san needed me to do,” Gau answers, eyes widening slightly. “She's busy cooking for everyone, and–”

“You've been helping out all morning, haven't you?”

Gau nods. “It was the least I could do, since she's been kind enough to let us stay here.”

“You deserve a rest,” Raikou tells him. “I'm sure Seki-san would agree.”

“But–”

“Come here, Gau.” Raikou gestures to the empty bedding beside him.

Gau stalls only a moment before decisiveness takes him and he returns the glass and pill bottle to the floor. He removes his slippers and lays down on top of the sheets, facing Raikou. The guestroom itself is small, and their futons have been laid out so close they nearly touch.

“Raikou-san,” Gau says quietly.

Before Gau can say anything else, Raikou reaches across the gap between their bedding and takes one of Gau's hands into his own. He wants to bring Gau's hand to his mouth and lay kisses to Gau's wrist, but not yet, he tells himself, not yet. The distance between them feels smaller than he knows it is. Maybe it's because this is still new to them. Maybe intimacy takes on a different shape when they're in someone else's home.

“Just rest,” Raikou tells him.

“I don't think I can,” Gau admits. “I'm– all the memories are coming back together. It feels strange.”

“Then tell me what you remember,” Raikou says. His mind has yet to stop its spilling but he wants to hear what Gau has to say.

Gau wets his lips. Quiet and hesitant, he begins.


End file.
